The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot

[Owen]

Gentlemen,
Today is the anniversary of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The IJN sent a series of aerial raids against the US fleet off Saipan. USS Alabama was the first ship to pick up the attackers at the then unheard of range of 190 miles. After some initial confusion the "Big Blue Blanket" of Hellcats decimated the Japanese formations. The Rising Sun that had begun to set at the Battle of Midway two years before, slipped beneath the waves forever. Much fighting remained, and many good men would die, but the IJN ceased to exist as a combat effective force. Let us remember these brave men who set the pace.

FLY NAVY,
Owen

 

[bunk22]

This is true, good post.

 

[BusyBee604]

Turkey Shoot...

The Rising Sun that had begun to set at the Battle of Midway two years before, slipped beneath the waves forever. Much fighting remained, and many good men would die, but the IJN ceased to exist as a combat effective force.

As a side note to the OP, today is also the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the IJN Carrier SHOKAKU (one of the Pearl Harbor raiders!). She met her doom via a spread of 3 torpedos by the submarine USS CAVALLA (SS-244), under the command of RADM (then CDR) Herman J. Kossler.

As a result, the [surviving] airborne SHOKAKU aircraft returning from the "Turkey Shoot", were forced to ditch upon arriving in the area of the now miissing Carrier. These aircraft were included in the final count for the 'Shoot'. So the "bubbleHeads" did make a small contribution to this heroic major action. CDR Kossler was awarded the Navy Cross, and CAVALLA and crew the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), for this action.

I learned these facts shortly after reporting aboard CAVALLA as an ETSN in 1955. The whole crew took great pride in the Boat's WWII combat record...even 10+ years later!
BzB

 

[MasterBates]

BZB, I have no idea how you guys did it in those subs.. Nuke Boomers make me claustrophobic.

 

[Owen]

BzB, what a great story! Did you start out on subs or in NAVAV? Did you wear Dolphins as well as Gold Wings?

 

[ea6bflyr]

I think this picture tell the story:

Photo #: 80-G-248549

Battle of the Philippine Sea, June 1944

Fighter plane contrails mark the sky over Task Force 58, during the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" phase of the battle, 19 June 1944.
Photographed from on board USS Birmingham (CL-62).
Photo courtesy of the US Navy Archives

 

[nittany03]

Didn't realize you were in diesel subs BzB. My Grandpa on Mom's side did his time in WWII and shortly after on DRAGONET and DIABLO. Didn't find out until after he passed about the story involving DRAGONET, a war patrol near the Kuril Islands, and an uncharted seamount that they hit straight on. Then on the way home they went straight through a North Pacific storm, while surfaced, and damn near lost the boat. Couldn't submerge due to the hull damage. Good DC saved the day, and here I am. DIABLO later got passed to Pakistan, renamed Ghazi, and tied up half the Indian fleet before getting sunk in some spat or other.

Oh, and let's not forget the other half of the sub/carrier duel . . . ALBACORE sinking Taiho with an assist from a boneheaded DCA or its Japanese equivalent onboard the carrier. ALBACORE's torpedo started a fuel leak; they tried to vent the spaces, and instead spread the fumes throughout the ship. BOOM!

 

[BusyBee604]

BzB, what a great story! Did you start out on subs or in NAVAV? Did you wear Dolphins as well as Gold Wings?

Started on the Subs. Caught the NAVCAD Program as an ET-2 (SS). Yes on the Dolphins.

BTW, Like the USS MIDWAY Museum in San Dogg, USS CAVALLA lives on, restored & is a Submarine Museum @ Seawolf Park in Galveston, TX. I visited her on my trip from Phoenix to Pensacola to attend the official retirement of my beloved A-4 Skyhawk in '96. She is on dry land up to her waterline in a specially dug pit. It has a nice, carefully manicured lawn right up against the hull.

Re claustrrophobia, was never a problem. They have ways to uncover this problem early in Sub School. It's an automatic drop.
BzB

 

[Fog]

You are the Man, BzB. Great stories of great service. As a now retired resident of Pensacola, we Navy vets need to get some retired Navy combat ships ported here as tourist attractions. Whether at NAS or downtown at the port, they would be great (think I've over-used that word) complements to the Museum of Naval Aviation to make Pensacola a tourist destination site. The Downtown Maritime Park has devolved into just a ballpark. A carrier, sub & DD/CG, etc. could really boost this tired old port town. At least it seems to work elsewhere.

 

[HeyJoe]

For those of you who want to learn more about this epic engagement

 

[HeyJoe]

One of the most notable and successful participants in the Turkey Shoot was crack shot (as in hunter) David McCampbell who translated his hunting skill into ability to aerial gunnery mastering deflection shooting so that his victories were made with minimal expenditure of ammunition (.50 Cal). He downed 7 attacking Japanese aircraft during a single mission in the Turkey Shoot setting a record broken a few months later (by him) in Battle of Leyte Gulf where he downed 9 in one sortie (thereby disrupting large formation of attacking Japanese aircraft, a feat that resulted in his being awarded the Medal of Honor). He ended up as the Navy's top ace with 34 victories in aerial combat and was credited with another 24 destroyed on the ground.

 

[Owen]

Like all of B.T.'s books that is an especially good one. I remember the Naval
Aviation Symposium back in '94 when I got to meet some of those fellows. It
was a distinct honor to meet the men who made the history I enjoy reading
about. Buel, Vraciu, Buell, and Omark were all just quiet humble down to earth
guys. As James Mitshner once famously said, "Where do we get such men".

 

[HeyJoe]

Like all of B.T.'s books that is an especially good one. I remember the Naval
Aviation Symposium back in '94 when I got to meet some of those fellows. It
was a distinct honor to meet the men who made the history I enjoy reading
about. Buel, Vraciu, Buell, and Omark were all just quiet humble down to earth
guys. As James Mitshner once famously said, "Where do we get such men".

True that...check out these guys...

U.S. Navy Fighting Squadron Fifteen (VF-15)

Squadron's top pilots pose On board USS Essex (CV-9) at the end of a six-month tour of duty in the Pacific, that included the Battles of the Philippine Sea (June 1944), Leyte Gulf (October 1944) and many other actions.Photo is dated 1 December 1944 and was released on 4 December 1944.

The original caption states, in part: "Each pilot is credited with five or more enemy planes ... their tally reads: 310 enemy planes shot down in combat, with half a million tons of Japanese shipping sunk or damaged. ... The squadron's victorious score card is shown in the foreground." Commander David McCampbell, Commanding Officer of VF-15's parent unit, Air Group 15, is standing just to right of the score card. His Grumman F6F "Hellcat" fighter (nicknamed "Minsi III") is in the background, with Japanese flags painted below its cockpit representing thirty-four "kills".

 

[HeyJoe]

...and speaking of Vraciu...his photo after downing 6 deadly Judy bombers in 8 min during the Turkey Shoot is one of my all-time favs

 

[Owen]

He recreated that shot at NNAM in P'cola a few years ago.
The two photos, holding up six fingers was featured on the
cover of the first Centennial newsletter.

http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/centennial/Documents/1st%20Centennial%20Newsletter.pdf